West Ham could be promoted to a rebranded Champions League under new UEFA European Super League plans to be discussed at a summit meeting.
That’s according to a big report from Spanish outlet El Pais which claims UEFA will discuss plans to completely reformat the way its European competitions work.
Europa Conference League winners West Ham are playing in the Europa League this season.
It is West Ham’s third consecutive season of European football for the first time in the club’s history.
The Hammers came within one win of qualifying for the Champions League back in the 2020-21 season.
But given the fiercely competitive standard of the Premier League, qualifying domestically is extremely tough for clubs like West Ham. Indeed winning the Europa League may be a more realistic pathway to qualifying for the Champions League for the Hammers.
Reviled plans for a European Super League to rival UEFA’s competitions – which would have meant a fixed number of elite clubs guaranteed a place with no promotion or relegation – were booted out just as quickly as they arrived back in 2021.
UEFA has already announced the format of its European competitions will change from next season.
The number of teams competing in the group stage will increase from 32 to 36, while the traditional group stage will change to a single league phase with clubs playing eight matches against eight different opponents.
The top eight qualify for the last 16 with the eight below competing in a two-legged play-off against the next eight for the right to join them.
But further changes are on the cards which could see the likes of West Ham given the chance to finally play at Europe’s top table.
West Ham could be promoted to a rebranded Champions League under new UEFA European Super League plans to be discussed at a summit meeting.
West Ham could be in division 2 or 3 of a new three-division UEFA structure with promotion and relegation.
According to widespread reports overnight originating from El Pais, UEFA is considering the possible change in the format of the European Cups from 2027.
The issue will be discussed at the end of the month.
And if UEFA’s management committee accepts the project, then the new tournament format is planned to be introduced no earlier than 2027.
The report claims UEFA wants to launch a European Cup campaign of three tournaments – the Super League, the Europa League and the Candidates League.
Teams in these divisions will compete for promotion and relegation, just like in the domestic leagues.
West Ham would likely start out in division 2 or 3 should they qualify via their Premier League finish or domestic cup success.
It is not yet clear how many clubs would be promoted and relegated between the divisions.
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